The Trump administration has deployed the California National Guard in response to protests in Los Angeles that began Friday evening over immigration enforcement operations, which resulted in some clashes between demonstrators and authorities, the White House said in a statement.
The protest continued through the weekend to Sunday evening, where demonstrators halted traffic on the 101 freeway as Los Angeles police deemed it an unlawful assembly.
This comes after President Donald Trump signed a memorandum “deploying 2,000 National Guardsmen to address the lawlessness” in California as demonstrations opposing Immigration and Customs Enforcement operations continue in the state, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom asked the Trump administration to rescind the deployment, saying the federal government was moving to “take over the California National Guard,” calling the move “purposefully inflammatory” and saying it will “only escalate tensions.”
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Trump claims Los Angeles protesters are ‘paid insurrectionists’
President Donald Trump posted on Truth Social from Camp David on Sunday, commenting on the ongoing Los Angeles protests where several individuals have been detained and cars have been set on fire as demonstrations escalate.
The president called for California Gov. Gavin Newsom and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass to “apologize to the people of Los Angeles.”
In the social media post, Trump calls the protestors “troublemakers and insurrectionists.”
The president is also claiming that the protesters in Los Angeles are being paid.
“Paid Insurrectionists!” Trump wrote in a separate social media post.
Newsom joins Los Angeles police and sheriffs amid ongoing protests
California Gov. Gavin Newsom joined officials from the Los Angeles Police Department and the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department to address the ongoing protests in the city.
The governor said the protests have been “provoked by chaos from Washington.”
“We’re here to keep the peace — not play into Trump’s political games,” Newsom wrote alongside a photo of the meeting.
Credit: Yahoo News